Its no wonder that even as Colt developed new revolver models during the war, like the 1861 Navy, that the Unions first choice was still the Model 1860. Advances in firearms technology were quickly progressing in the mid-1800s making for some seriously well designed and powerful arms development during the Civil War. Considered by many to be the premier Mini-style rifled musket of the day, the Pattern 1853 Enfield could readily outperform its counterparts on the battlefield. Typically, these rifles are sold for $1,000-$3,000 depending on their condition. [23][24], Many older Springfield muskets, such as the Springfield Model 1842, which had been converted into rifles were also brought out of storage due to the arms shortage. Springfield, Sharp, Henry, Spencer and the Austrian Lorentz. Another had identified it as Austrian: Muster 1842 k.k. Like the Springfield, this was a three-band, single-shot, muzzle-loading rifle musket. This may not be a true Sharps, but the historically relevant and rare nature of a Confederate-made copy made this a popular item. [20], The second-most widely used rifle of the Civil War, and the weapon most widely used by the Confederates, was the British Pattern 1853 Enfield. Desirable Civil War era Parisian First Model LeMat grape shot revolver. This was converted from tubelock to percussion by Henry Leman of Lancaster, PA, in converted from tubelock to percussion by Henry Leman of Lancaster, PA, in late 1862 or early 1863. Not only is the Sharps perhaps one of the most elegant rifles to come out of the Civil War era, it also performed. Both Union and Confederate armies used this accuracy to devastating effect, flinging the .58-caliber, 500-grain Mini balls at each other from up to 500 yards out. If . Civilian models did see war time uses if a soldier privately purchased the firearm, but it is hard to tell if the Civil War gun was for battle or just purchased by someone for general protection. The most widely accepted figure estimates 620,000 men lost their lives in the four years of war. Some shotguns were used in the very beginning, mostly by southern troops but were discarded after the first battle or two when better weapons were acquired from the dead. To others, they were next to trash. [11] The 14th Illinois once attempted target practice with a barrel set up 180 yards from the firing line, but of 160 shots fired only four actually hit it. In September of 2018, RIAC sold a Paris marked First Model Le Mat revolver for $17,250. The U.S. is . The Spencer carbine and rifle were first presented to the government in 1860, but were rejected by the United States because they were 7 shooters and fired too fast for accuracy. [17] Accordingly, during the first two years of the war soldiers from both sides used a wide variety of rifles, including many that were over 50 years old and were considered obsolete. This page is not available in other languages. Similar in design to the Enfield rifle, early Lorenz rifles were considered superb weapons right out of the factory, but they had a .54 caliber bore which could not accept the same bullets as the Springfield and Enfield. [17] Stockpiles of rifles and handguns carried by individual soldiers were limited. At least two major battles in the Civil War, Gaines Mill and Gettysburg, saw such attempts, both with predictable results. But there were relatively few that did. In our 2019 May Premier Auction, we had four Colt Model 1860 Army revolver sell at auction. 6. Understanding these is critical to interpreting official reports from the battles, and getting a sense for what soldiers in the Civil War faced when they were in combat. In the early 1850s, Burnside resigned his military commission to work exclusively on his breech-loading carbine design. [7][22] Depending on the location where they were manufactured, these were known as Richmond or Fayetteville rifles. 10,000 of the muskets were sent to Hall, Carrol and Co and Greenwood and Co, both of Cincinnati, Ohio. [7] At 500 yards a trained shooter could hit a man-sized target about half the time. Sharps were the most highly desirable Civil War rifles and carbines for sharpshooters. To reflect this longer range, the Springfield was fitted with two flip up sights, one set for 300 yards (270m) and the other for 500. Most of the regular army was equipped with them in 1861, and the Confederates had a few thousand that had been stored in Southern arsenals. Confederate General Braxton Braggs LeMat revolver realized an incredible $103,500 during Rock Island Auction Company's December 2021 Premier Firearms Auction. You can also buy research materials from one of our affiliates at our Books for . Rifled muskets not only blunted the frontal assault by enemy infantry but also neutralized the offensive capabilities of cavalry and field artillery and thereby led to the increased usage of trench warfare. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifle was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. This allowed the projectile to expand upon firing and take hold of the rifling, and in turn stabilize and be truly accurate. In our 2019 May Premier Auction, we sold an excellent conditioned, beautifully casehardened and original blue preserved Spencer Model 1860 rifle for an astounding $48,875. We buy, sell, identify, authenticate and appraise Antique Civil War and Confederate Firearms of all types, manufactured prior to 1866. The balance is believed to have been altered by Henry Leman, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania using a patent breech like the ones used on his alterations of US M1816 muskets and M1803, M1814, and M1817 common rifles. We specialize in arms made by Colt, Remington, Sharps, Spencer, Union . Many unique Civil War revolvers and rifles can be found at Rock Island Auction Company. Any identification marks are most likely on the bottom of the barrels, under the wood. Unfortunately for the lucky Confederate troops who happened to capture these rifles from Union soldiers, there wasn't an easy way to access the special ammunition that the guns required. Turkish evacuation plane shot at as latest cease-fire struggles in Sudan. This was a single shot, muzzle-loading gun that used the percussion cap firing mechanism. In fact, the reinterment of all the soldiers at the Camden Battlefield site is being delayed until the U.S. Army and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust can turn the ground into a . Hi. Besides being known for his poor generalship, stylish facial hair and being the first president of the NRA, Ambrose Burnside was also a firearms innovator. These home goods ranged from coats to shoes to even weapons. [1][3] Previously, historians of the war such as James M. McPherson have argued that the increased range of the rifled musket rendered the Napoleonic tactics with which Civil War commanders continued to fight obsolete and bloody. Advances in firearms technology were quickly progressing in the mid-1800s making for some seriously well designed and powerful arms development during the Civil War. Historically, the smoothbore musket had been the primary weapon of the infantry while the rifle was reserved for specialist units. The rifle was completely original and still retains almost all its blue coloring on the barrel. It appears be a percussion muzzle loading shotgun, not a rifle. [6] Another reason is that the rifling also slowed the speed of the bullet, which meant a lower muzzle velocity than smoothbore muskets and a curved trajectory. I don't know anything about your "rifle" except to tell you that it is NOT a rifle, it is a double barreled shotgun. With a B.S. Calibre .577, Cosmopolitan, rifled. The lowest selling went for $3,163 and was a civilian model. p. 249-250, Hess,E.J. Bridesburg Model . And why not? The old gal looks rode hard and put away wet. The Perpetually Frozen North. Some good pictures to go along with the article. The lever action gun could fire off 20 rounds a minute on average making it ten times faster than the traditional muzzleloaders of the time. One of the most popular items to collect from the annals of American history is Civil War rifles. The caplock replaced the flintlock, improving performance in wet weather and allowing for a slightly higher rate of fire, and the use of rifling with mechanically fitted bullets was tested by several inventors. The highest selling Colt Model 1860 revolver in May was a Confederate shipped fluted cylinder model and sold for $12,650. [7][8][9][10], Training could help overcome some of these difficulties but target practice was virtually unknown on either side of the Civil War. Rifles made this type of fighting obsolete because of their much greater range. The American Civil War of 1861-1865 relied on many different kinds of firearms during the years-long progression of the conflict. It looks like the wood has been sanded and refinished. More accurate firearms, able to be fired at a higher rate, combined with outdated military tactics to pulverize vast swaths of men in the blue and the gray. [18], This collection contain smoothbore flintlocks converted into percussion muskets, some with their barrels rifled, Contract carbines as they were known at that time: Cosmopolitan, Sharps, Gallager, Smith and Burnside, Joslyn, Starr, Lindner, Warner, Maynard and Merrill carbines, Model 1816, Model 1842 and Model 1855 muskets, Confederate Richmond musket (top) along with U.S. Model 1861, British Pattern 1853 Enfield, U.S. Model 1861 muskets and Sharps rifle, Here is a number of Springfield Model 1861 contract rifles produced elsewhere except Springfield. Some such weapons included clones of the Sharps carbine, the Richmond/Fayetteville rifles (a Springfield clone) and imitations of Enfield rifles and musketoons. Because of this, soldiers were frequently outfitted with firearms that were made decades before the fight even started. The rifle showed gray patina and mild wear from use which is pretty astounding considering the age. We have an old rifle that has been passed on through my wifes family from, we believe, the Ciivil War. The Spencer had an excellent reputation in combat, with a sustainable rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. And it might be one of the most unique long-gun designs of the war, and perhaps overall firearms history. After experimenting with the failed Maynard primer system on the Model 1855 musket, the Model 1861 reverted to the more reliable percussion lock. These differences made it easy to operate from horseback with accuracy, and this accuracy is what inspired the English term, "sharpshooter." These rifles were used by both the United States of America ("Union") and the Confederate States of America . At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union Army salvaged 24,000 rifles which were still loaded and found 18,000 of them had been loaded twice or more without being fired. Now trying to prove this gun saw use is a whole different story and most likely can not be done. Again, the high level of condition shown is rare to come by with Civil War guns considering the predicted heavy use and age of the firearms. The Henry repeating rifle can be considered the Rolls Royce of guns manufactured during the Civil War. 4 | "War in an Age of Wonders" By Michael P. Musick The information most sought after in ordnance records is data on the issuance of arms by serial number. Like the musket, the projectile was smaller than the bore, allowing for fast loading, even when the arm was fouled with black-powder residue. The rear sight on this one is very creative, since Leman removed the Austrian rear sight when he converted the weapons. In the decades leading up to the Civil War, several advances helped make the rifle a more practical weapon for the average soldier. I can't tell from the pictures if the barrels are Damascus or not. Christopher Spencers design limited the chance of dirt and other obstructions from rendering the carbine non-functional, an important feature for a rifle bound for battle. This musket has been identified as one having been purchased by the Confederacy due to chronic arms shortages throughout the conflict. CAT. Elwood Shelton is an online content developer for Gun Digest. 25,000 tube-lock Austrian M1842 muskets were imported via the firm of Kruse, Drexel, and Schmidt, out of a total of 68,505 Austrian muskets imported by the North during the war. Black powder also quickly obscured the battlefield, which led military leaders of the time to conclude that the greater range of rifles was of little value on the battlefield. Whether the Civil War gun youre in the market for is a rifle, carbine, or revolver, you hopefully now know a little more about which ones to purchase for your taste and budget. Typical appearing 1840's to 1860's/early 1870's double barrel muzzleloading shotgun.
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